In an age of constant change and regulations, one thing remains the same in coding and billing: If it’s not documented, it wasn’t done. This is the main rule for documentation. Good documentation is and always has been the foundation of accurately capturing a provider’s work and the patient’s condition, management and treatment. Introduced by…
Imagine you’ve just heard a compelling presentation urging all ACR members to contribute to RheumPAC, the ACR’s political action committee. RheumPAC’s mission is to support politicians who support issues important to rheumatologists. You are impressed by the role RheumPAC has played in a number of issues you support. Just as you’re writing a check, you…
NEW YORK (Reuters Health)—Tabalumab, a monoclonal antibody to B-cell activating factor, was modestly better than placebo in relieving symptoms of systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE), according to results from the ILLUMINATE-2 trial. “Lupus is a complicated disease that does not behave the same way in all patients who share the clinical symptoms,” Dr. Joan T. Merrill…
Telemedicine apps used on mobile devices may help rheumatologists connect with select patients, increasing practice efficiency and patient access to treatment…
Patients with non-radiographic axSpA experience reduced mobility and quality of life. In this study, researchers investigated the effect of treatment for nr-axSpA every four weeks with SQ golimumab (GLM). Seventy-one percent of patients in the GLM group achieved ASAS 20 response at Week 16, compared with 40.0% in the control group…
ATLANTA—The American College of Rheumatology (ACR) has released new recommendations for the treatment of ankylosing spondylitis (AS) and non-radiographic axial spondyloarthritis (SpA). The guideline was developed with the Spondylitis Association of America (SAA) and the Spondyloarthritis Research and Treatment Network. It summarizes recommendations for both pharmacologic and non-pharmacologic treatments, including rehabilitation, management of patients with…
ROME, Italy—The medical environment is increasingly adapting to the possibilities of optimizing care by individualizing medical treatment and tailoring treatment to disease phenotypes. Data suggest that individualizing exercise therapy, an important treatment modality for rheumatic and musculoskeletal diseases, can help control disease, maximize function, minimize functional barriers and decrease the risk of co-morbidity.1,2,3 Personalizing exercise…
In diagnosing and treating a disease that is rapidly gaining recognition worldwide since it was first recognized in Japan in 2003, 42 experts from 10 different countries recently collaborated to discuss and review the current experience and data on IgG4-related disease. The result is the “International Consensus Guidance Statement on the Management and Treatment of…
Two new ACR publications, created in collaboration with the European League Against Rheumatism, aim to improve the treatment of patients with polymyalgia rheumatica (PMR) and introduce new classification criteria for gout…
Two Phase 3 trials have shown that epratuzumab did not meet its primary endpoints for treating SLE. Meanwhile, a Phase 3 study has shown adalimumab is effective for treating enthesitis-related arthritis in juveniles…